January 12th, 2017 → 6:24 am
“Restoration hang
Thy medicine on my lips.” – King Lear
I’m feeling a bit under the weather right now. Here’s hoping things get better soon!
Filed under: Blog & Self/My Life
January 8th, 2017 → 8:15 am
“How much more elder art thou than thy looks!” – The Merchant of Venice
I’m at a work conference right now, and in the elevator last night on my way to the ceremony where I was sworn in as president of the august and venerable Transportation and Public Utilities Group (TPUG), a young man turned to me and asked, “Are you headed to a job interview?” It took all I had not to laugh out loud. I know I’m small and I look young, but that young? Lovin’ it!
Filed under: Blog & Self/My Life
October 19th, 2016 → 5:53 am
“Cormorant devouring time.” – Love’s Labor’s Lost
(Note: The cormorant is a ravenous sea bird that eats fish in large numbers.)
All of a sudden I’m crazy busy and can’t find enough time to get everything done. I hate when it gets like this. It’s exhausting!
Filed under: Blog & Other & Self/My Life
September 30th, 2016 → 5:58 am
“I am gone, though I am here.” – Much Ado About Nothing
It’s that time of the semester when my students are barely there, I’m barely there, everyone’s walking around half-sick, fully tired, and wishing they were in bed. Wouldn’t that be nice right now? More sleep…..zzzzz….
Filed under: Blog & Other & Self/My Life
September 11th, 2016 → 5:14 am
“I have more flesh than another man
and therefore more frailty.” – Henry IV, Part I
Continuing with the Hollow Crown series, I watched Henry IV, Part I last night. This quote made me wonder, if being large means you are more frail (or, as Falstaff meant it, more fallible), does being small mean you are more resilient (or, more honest)? I have read scientific studies that claim that small people live longer – one potential explanation of which is that there are less cells to go haywire, less of a chance something will turn cancerous. I rather doubt that being small makes you more resilient or more honest, frankly, but it is nice to hear some praise for smallness (even if it is from Falstaff), which is so rare in our current culture with its worshipfulness of all things big and tall.
Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art & Self/My Life
August 8th, 2016 → 7:03 am
“Like Arion on the dolphin’s back.
I saw him hold acquaintance with the waves.” – Twelfth Night
As summer nears its end, we’re trying to get in as much pool time as we can. Yesterday, my son abandoned his Spiderman swim vest, and of his own volition swam and jumped in the pool unaided. It was lovely. A mother’s dream (and nightmare), watching her son grow up before her eyes.
Filed under: Blog & Self/My Life
June 2nd, 2016 → 6:24 am
“Where is the life that late I led?” – Henry IV, Part II
Just returned from a vacation to Alaska (see Mendenhall Glacier pic below). My son was up all morning yesterday asking when we would be going back. I think that means it was a success for all! That, or my son just doesn’t want to go to summer camp. 😉
Filed under: Blog & Self/My Life
May 12th, 2016 → 5:57 am
“Momentary as a sound,
Swift as a shadow, short as any dream,
Brief as the lightning in the collied night,
That, in a spleen, unfolds both heaven and earth.” – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
(Note: “collied” means “dark,” and “in a spleen” means “in a flash”)
People have different views of motherhood. Some say it is the best thing they ever did (my own mother used to say that), some say it is the hardest; I’ve seen studies that show that parents are less happy than people without children, and other studies that find that they are more fulfilled. I think you simply can’t know until you are in the middle of it. And I also think that the experience will be different for each person, as childhood is. For me, motherhood has been a joy, though I will admit that it is more work than not. The majority of my time spent in relation to my child is spent cleaning, reprimanding, organizing, trying to figure out what the hell is going on or what just happened. There are times, in the midst of the chaos, when I wonder what I am doing. But every morning when my son wakes up, the very first thing he does (before even going to the bathroom) is to find me and give me a very long, very extended hug. Sometimes this morning hug lasts for a few minutes even! And in the still quietness of the house, with my husband asleep in the bedroom and nothing making a sound but my son’s beating heart against my own, I think, this one moment makes it all worth it. Literally. It may seem odd that 60 seconds of pure joy are worth what is often 5 hours of thankless frustration later in the day, but I can’t explain it, it is. When I hug my son in that brief morning moment, and he’s just all relaxed and warm and draped over me, the comfort is exquisite. It is like we are one.
Filed under: Blog & Self/My Life
April 16th, 2016 → 4:51 am
“Am I your self
But, as it were, in sort of limitation,
To keep with you at meals, comfort your bed,
And talk to you sometimes? Dwell I but in the suburbs
Of your good pleasure? If it be no more,
Portia is Brutus’ harlot, not his wife.” – Julius Caesar
Marriage. Like a sine wave. Except, not that it can be good and bad. But that it can be exciting, and then boring. Comforting, and yet alienating. Always, I guess, an adventure.
Filed under: Blog & Self/My Life
March 21st, 2016 → 5:44 am
“Appetite, an universal wolf.” – Troilus & Cressida
Just got back from a short trip to Cincinnati. I way overate. Darn hunger when you travel, and there’s no healthy food options available!
Filed under: Blog & Self/My Life